Slain bouncer had just taken job at strip club

By Ana Ley :
May 3, 2012
: Updated: May 4, 2012 12:20am

A bouncer at a South Side strip club was shot dead Thursday after he kicked a patron out of the bar.

Police said Frank Bernard Lurati, 24, argued with the customer shortly before midnight at the MVP Club in the 3700 block of Roosevelt Avenue. Witnesses told police the customer left and returned about 20 minutes later with a gun. He tried to lure Lurati to his car, police said. When Lurati refused, the shooter fired about three rounds.

Police found Lurati dead at the scene with gunshot wounds to his chest and near his groin.

The shooter is believed to be in his mid-20s and weighs about 165 pounds. He was last seen driving south on Roosevelt Avenue in an early 2000s silver Chevrolet Impala or Malibu.

Veronica Ramirez, a family friend and neighbor, said Lurati was hired at MVP only about two weeks ago.

“To think he was just doing his job,” she said. “He was so young.”

Ramirez said she knew Lurati as Frankie, a “sweet guy” who often came to her house to have beers and barbecue with her and her husband.

“Man, life is too short,” Ramirez said. “It's sad.”

Attempts to reach Lurati's relatives and the MVP club were unsuccessful.